Why I choose plastic hives and frames for keeping bees
I sometimes ask myself the same thing when crouched over cleaning some boxes.
For me, the argument for giving bees well-insulated, dry homes triumphs over the sentiment that feral bees live in wooden cavities, so they should live in wooden hives even if the hives are damp, draughty, and uninsulated. Don’t get me wrong; bees do well in uninsulated hives. The walls protect the colony against rain, wind, and predators. Any modern hive is different from a tree cavity.
An old plastic frame with a press on queen introduction cage.
When researching hives in 2013, I came across @beekeeperDevon YouTube, which seemed very sensible, and I was hooked. I liked how the plastic edges protect the walls. Plastic frames sounded like a good idea for seeing eggs. Langstroth deeps are heavy, hence, medium frames, which are 160 mm high. Paradise hives weren’t made as Nationals back then.
Even with careful waxing, bees don’t draw plastic frames in advance of them being needed unless there is a strong flow and I will be using more wax foundation in future.
Wooden hives have disadvantages, which are a “normal” part of beekeeping. Poly hives have disadvantages which are foreign to the uninitiated.